Born: April 9, 1898, Princeton, NJ

Education: Rutgers University, B.A. highest honors, 1919; Columbia Law School, LL.B., 1923

Died: January 23, 1976, Philadelphia, PA

Inspired by his father, an escaped slave and Baptist preacher, Robeson learned in boyhood to resist injustice.

He was a trailblazer. A scholar-athlete at Rutgers University, he finished Columbia Law School and worked in a New York law firm. But he soon quit because of race prejudice and, inspired by the Harlem Renaissance, joined a theatrical group. He acted in off-Broadway shows like The Emperor Jones (1923). A popular and recording singer of Negro folk songs and spirituals, he also starred on Broadway in Othello (1930). His film credits include The Emperor Jones (1933) and The Song of the Rivers (1954).

As he performed overseas, including in the Soviet Union, Robeson denounced racial, ethnic, and class injustices. From the 1930s he was an international activist. He rejected fascism and racism, “refusing to sing before segregated audiences,” joining the leftist National Negro Congress, and performing fund-raisers for labor unions and civil rights organizations.

He faced a backlash. The House Committee on Un-American Activities interrogated him; the government revoked his passport (1950). When a Federal Court restored it (1958), he visited the Soviet Union and remained abroad. He returned in 1963 but was isolated by civil rights leaders; media blacklisted him. He received a posthumous Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement (1998).